Father Was a Fullback

Father Was a Fullback
1950 Theatrical Poster
Directed by	John M. Stahl
Produced by	Fred Kohlmar
Written by	Aleen Leslie Casey Robinson Mary Loos Richard Sale
Starring	Fred MacMurray Rudy Vallee Maureen O'Hara Natalie Wood Betty Lynn Thelma Ritter
Music by	Cyril J. Mockridge
Cinematography	Lloyd Ahern
Edited by	J. Watson Webb Jr.
Distributed by	Twentieth Century Fox
Release date	September 30, 1949 (1949-09-30)
Running time	84 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$1.8 million[1]

Father Was a Fullback is a 1949 film black-and-white of Twentieth Century Fox based on a comedy by Clifford Goldsmith. The film is about a college American football star and his woes. The film stars Fred MacMurray, Maureen O'Hara, Natalie Wood, and Betty Lynn.

Plot summary

State College football coach George Cooper (Fred MacMurray) has more than enough problems on the job without his teenage daughter Connie (Betty Lynn) complicating his life at home. She has written a story but no one has agreed to publish it yet. Furthermore she is convinced that she is unattractive to the opposite sex and wallows in frustrated self-pity. Resigning herself to a loveless existence, she decides to make literature her life. When she gets a check for $180 for a fictional article she pens about a teenage bubble dancer that recently appeared in a confessions magazine, the boys come calling. The young author dates a high school football star from across town who chooses to attend State College (rather than Notre Dame University) to be near his newfound sweetheart. She is the first girl he likes more than football. George's football and domestic problems seem to be solved.

His wife Elizabeth (Maureen O'Hara) and housekeeper Geraldine (Thelma Ritter) support the family members in distress, while the younger sister Ellen (Natalie Wood) helps Connie and her father out during this difficult time. In the end she feels much like her sister did in the beginning.

Cast

Principals

Fred MacMurray and Maureen O'Hara in a scene from the film.

• Fred MacMurray as George "Coop" Cooper, a college football coach
• Maureen O'Hara as Elizabeth Cooper, his wife
• Betty Lynn as Constance "Connie" Cooper, his oldest daughter
• Natalie Wood as Ellen Cooper, his youngest daughter
• Thelma Ritter as Geraldine, his housekeeper
• Jim Backus as Professor "Sully" Sullivan, his neighbor (performing under the name, James G. Backus)
• Rudy Vallee as Mr. Roger "Jess" Jessup, a football supporter

Behind the scenes

• Father Was a Fullback marked the second time child actor Natalie Wood was cast as Maureen O'Hara's daughter. The first was in Miracle on 34th Street. A month after the film was released Wood received the Child of the Year Award in celebration of Children's Day.
• Actress Betty Lynn would achieve immortality almost ten years after making Father Was a Fullback as Thelma Lou, Barney Fife's girlfriend in The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968). Lynn made 26 appearances on the series.

References

External links

• Father Was a Fullback on IMDb
• Father Was a Fullback at the TCM Movie Database
• Father Was a Fullback at AllMovie